Sunday, April 24, 2016

On 25th
April 2015 at around 11- 56 am, I was standing inside a “tankha” painter’s
studio in Lo Manthang, the capital of Mustang district in the rain shadow of
the Himalayas. All of a sudden, I
noticed that the bowls of paint in little cups were vibrating and this began to
increase rapidly. As I watched in
amazement the colours began to spill onto the floor which was also shaking and
we then realized it was an earthquake. We ran out onto the street and looking
up I found the walls of a nearby building shaking dangerously. Each time I
thought it was going to collapse it miraculously straightened up again. At that
time I had no idea of the enormity of the disaster which was unfolding in
Nepal.

Since
the two earthquakes and the numerous aftershocks which have rocked this mountain
kingdom, Nepal has been on the world map for the last one year.

The images and videos are by now all too familiar – rubble and shattered
homes and buildings, cars smashed by rocks, large chunks of the hillside
falling away into dust and ashes in a
video, avalanches the size of large tidal waves sweeping up a camp, those
familiar orange and blue shelters adorning the hillside shot by cameramen in helicopters,
women trying to find their
belongings in the rocks and bricks which were once their homes, and
police and soldiers on their constant
patrol trying to keep order in the world heritage monuments many of which are
now lying in ruins.

Durbar Square Kathmandu soon after the earthquake

It is now the first anniversary of this calamity. What has happened
in Nepal since then?

Very little really.

The earthquake in Nepal was followed an agitation by the
Madhesi parties against the new constitution which resulted in a border
blockade with India for six months and brought the country to its feet.

Fuel and cooking gas were being black marketed, costs of all
essential commodities spiralled out of control, flights were not refuelled at Kathmandu
airport, long lines of buses, cars and motor bikes stood daily outside fuel
pumps which were dry and foreign countries like USA, UK, Australia issued advisory
warnings against travelling to Nepal.

Haze and pollution over Kathmandu as seen from Swayambhunath, April 2016

Further, Kathmandu the
capital is in a shambles. Very high pollution levels accompanied by a haze
which sits over the valley has affected the health of many. Wearing a face mask
while walking on the street is now the norm rather than the exception. The Nepal capital has been rated as the third
most polluted city in the world. Along with this, electricity shortages to the
tune of 12 to 14 hours per day have brought the city to its feet. And it does
not look like the situation will improve in a hurry and neither does the
Government have a plan in place to tackle these issues.

Roland Hunter of The Mountain Company at Everest Base Camp, September 2015 on a recce visit to assess the earthquake damage on the trekking trails to Everest

Tourists and trekkers who had planned to come for the autumn
2015 season put their plans on hold and Nepal tourism received another setback
with virtually no business for two consecutive seasons.

The blockade was lifted in early 2016 but by then the damage
was already done. However the trek agencies and hoteliers are optimistic that
autumn 2016 will bring back the tourists if there is stability on the political
front and not further agitation by the Madhesis.

But what of the reconstruction process?

One year later the Nepal Reconstruction Authority (NRA) is
sitting with $4 billion dollars of aid to distribute to the people but due to
the lack of proper infrastructure and systems for distribution these funds remain
locked. In fact, after the Government announced relief schemes, the number of those claiming to have lost
their homes shot up from about 5.70 lac houses to around 7.70 lac houses and
the NRA was called upon to verify the
data once more, further setting back the recovery timeline.

The villagers had also been promised Rs 2 lacs each to
rebuild their homes in earthquake proof designs – none of this money has
reached them either as no design has been approved by the Government. But in
actual fact the cost of an earthquake proof house would be to the tune of Rs 5
lac at least so where will the rest of the money come from?

The prototype at Kaule almost completed

Various aid agencies have been rebuilding earthquake proof prototypes
in different villages and have been applying to the DUDBC (Department of Urban
Development and Building) for approval of the designs.

Building the roof of the prototype at Kaule

As a part of South
Col Nepal Earthquake Support we have supported the building of one such prototype
(www.thekauleprototype.blogspot.com)
with indigenous materials in Kaule village, Nuwakot district and have also submitted
the design for approval.

Detailed drawings submitted to DUDBC for approval

As typical for most of the people in Nepal, the villagers
wait in hope for their Rs 2 lacs each for re-building their homes.

Saturday, April 16, 2016

The south side of the Annapurnas on top as photographed from a flight above Pokhara town and the north side below photographed from the Kang La Pass (5320 metres) - click to enlarge

On my last trek to the valleys of Nar and Phu in Nepal, I crossed the Kang la Pass ( 5320 metres) and descended into the Manang valley to join the famed Annapurna circuit route. On that sunny morning, I had a dress circle view of the Annapurna peaks from the northern side. I shot a panorama of the view and later on compared it to the view from the south which most of us are familiar with. The two views are given above for comparison.

The post below covers some of these great mountains and their first ascents. The data is courtesy the data base of Elizabeth Hawley.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

South Col Expeditionswill once again be trekking the beautiful Markha Valley in Ladakh from July 15th to 24th 2016. The details and schedule of the trek is below:

Day 01 Delhi to Leh

We take the spectacular one hour flight over the Himalayas to Leh. Be prepared to sit on the left hand window seat for the best views. The rest of the day is spent acclimatizing in Leh.

Day 02 Acclimatization day in and around Leh

We take the opportunity to visit some of the splendid monasteries in and around Leh like Shey, Thikse, Hemis etc.

Day 03 Leh to Chilling by road and then walk to Skiu 3400m (4 hours)

We leave Leh in the morning after an early breakfast and then drive to Chilling in around two and a half hours. We meet our pony man and support team in Chilling. From Chilling we start our four hour walk to Skiu and reach by later afternoon.

Day 04 Skiu to Tunespa 3600 m ( 4 hours)

The trail is mostly flat following the Markha river. After around three hours the trail crosses a bridge and then traverses some steep slopes before entering the hamlet of Chaluk. From Chaluk there is a short walk to Tunespa which is small village with cultivated fields.

The trail from Tunespa climbs up to some chortens from where there is a good view of the valley. It continues to follow the river until it enters Markha where we have lunch. From Markha it is a gentle climb past Umlung to Hankar where we stop for the night.

Day 06 Hankar to Tahungtse 4150 metres 3 hours and the Tahungtse to the Tea Tent (lake) 3 hoursFrom Hankar the trail climbs to reach the walled pastures of Tahungtse. We stop for an early lunch here and then proceed after lunch to reach the small tarn with excellent mountain views. There is a small tea tent here in season for refreshments.

Day 07 Tea Tent to Nimaling ( 4720 meters) 2 hours uphill

The trail climbs to Nimaling which is a large valley where yaks, sheep and goats are grazed by the villagers of Markha. We do a short day to Nimaling as the next day has a pass crossing and a stiff downhill! It is beautiful campsite but can often be cold and windy!

Day 08 Nimaling to Kongmaru La 5100 meters 2 hours and then down to Chukirmo 4050 meters four hours

The trail then climbs to the pass of Kongmaru La from where there are good views over the Zanskar mountains and the peak of Kang Yaze. From the pass the trail drops steeply for about 1000 metres to the settlement of Chukirmo where we camp for the night.

Day 09 Chukirmo to Shang Sumdo 31/2 hours and then drive to Leh two hours

The trail continues to drop but more gradually now to Chogdo and then passes a school and finally enters Shang Sumdo. We have our packed lunch in Shang Sumdo and then drive back to Leh.

Day 10 Leh to DelhiWe can avail the morning flight from Leh to Delhi and be back in civilization in an hour! In case you wish to stay on in Leh further please do inform us for hotel bookings and onward reservations.

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All the photographs and text on this blog are mine, unless I explicitly mention otherwise. Please do not use any of my photographs without my permission. If you want to use any of them, email me at sujoyrdas@gmail.com

About Me

Sujoy Das has been trekking and photographing in the Himalayas for the last thirty years. He leads treks under the banner of South Col Expeditions. He is the joint author and photographer of Sikkim - A Travellers Guide with Arundhati Ray and author of Lonely Planet-Nepal for the Indian Traveller. His essays and photographs have been published in books and magazines worldwide including The Washington Post, APA Publications, Outlook Traveller, India Today Travel Plus, Times of India Crest etc. He is currently working on a book on the Nepal Himalaya and organizing treks and photo expeditions as a part of South Col Expeditions. He is also a contributing photographer to www.lightandcomposiiton.com . For more information and photographs, please do visit www.sujoydas.com and www.sujoyrdas.blogspot.com